The being that you are now is not as important as who you are becoming.

Knowing this fact means that you understand the importance of exploring and expanding your personal potential.

This is why personal development is so unique. What is not as important to someone else may rank very high
on your priority list, and vice versa. It all comes down to which area(s) of your life YOU wish to develop.

This is the essence of personal development.

13 Ultimate Keys To Personal Development

Nothing is quite as rewarding as personal development. I think these are essential elements.

BOLDLY BELIEVE! Placing God first and foremost in your life and over your life is the wisest thing you can do. When you trust God to guide you, to supply you with all you need, you are empowered to become all you can be. This is always the first key in personal development. Believe in yourself by using the God-given gifts and talents you possess to the best of your ability. If you believe that God also works through people, you also believe in others, in cooperation and collaboration.

CHARACTER CULTIVATION. Many people are concerned about their reputation, what others think of them. But do people know you for who you really are? When you chisel your character, things such as integrity, accountability and transparency are very important to you. When it comes to character, ask yourself, “What have I become?” and “What am I becoming?“

COMPLETE COMMITMENT. Devote yourself to INTENTIONAL IMPROVEMENTS. Personal development is not a quick fix in one or two areas of your life. It is a life-long, continual process, one that requires daily governance.

CONSCIOUS CHOICES. Active awareness plays a pivotal role in conscious choices, but many choices we make are not on this level. Some people find it difficult to accept other people or situations. This, in turn, effects the way they make their choices. Perhaps my post 11 Creative Ways To Make Conscious Choices will help.

FINE FOCUS. Rather than having many nominal and minimal interests, fine focus on your attention, your energy, and your time on the things that will help you to be better. You will gain the greatest clarity in your life when you concentrate on a few things that matter most to you.

HEALTHY HABITS. Developing healthy habits are more important than goals. When you are in the habit of thinking quality thoughts that align with your purpose, you intentionally create opportunities that yield great outcomes. When it comes to bad habits, rooting them out takes time, but it is a very worthwhile process. If you have not done so, I encourage you to read my previous post entitled, Get Rid Of Bad Habits Once and For All. If you find yourself constantly low on energy, it may be helpful to read 5 Healthy Habits To Fight Fatigue.

INTENTIONAL IMPROVEMENTS. What are better than excellent intentions? The actions manifested as a result of them. Not all thoughts lead to action, but when it is your deepest desire as well as your highest aim to be the very best, according to your BOLD BELIEF, you will accomplish and achieve all that you can imagine.

LOVE LEARNING. It is so much easier to acquire information when there is enjoyment attached to it. A big part of this is developing a voracious appetite for reading.

GIVE GRACIOUSLY. You increase your value every time you add value to others. You only need to be spiritually wealthy, giving of your time and talents, to accomplish this.

HIGHEST HONESTY. Nothing is quite so valuable as personal honesty. In the same way you cannot unscramble eggs and return them to their original form, recovering your integrity would be just as difficult. Keep your honesty intact at all times.

SOCIAL SKILLS. The long and short of this is, “Be someone worth remembering.” Be engaging. Be fun to be around. Make it a priority to engage others and to form meaningful relationships.

SEEK SOLUTIONS. When seeking solutions is your mindset, you are continually looking for creative ways to solve problems.

Personal Development Quotes To Inspire and Motivate You

“Any ideas, plan, or purpose may be placed in the mind through repetition of thought.” ~ Napoleon Hill

“Integrity is the sound follow through of your heart, and an important part in the process of manifesting what it is that you aspire to. If you say that you are going to do something, do it. If you fail to complete the task at hand, or fulfill a promise you made, you are not operating at the right frequency. Don’t lie to yourself and to others, follow through. Complete yourself. Expand your consciousness.” ~ Will Barnes

“Know who you are, and be it. Know what you want, and go out and get it!” ~ Carroll Bryant

“Live with fulfilment, serve with passion so in this lifetime you will have the ability to die with no regrets.” ~ Randy Gonzales

“To become a master at any skill, it takes the total effort of your: heart, mind, and soul working together in tandem.” ~ Maurice Young

“Who we are in the present includes who we were in the past.” ~ Fred Rogers

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William A. Butler is a John C.Maxwell certified coach. He loves to add value to others and aspiring to be a great humanitarian, lives by four words: BE LOVE TO OTHERS.
William often goes by "Bill" and is a poet, a songwriter and has an upcoming novel.

Hi Kumar,
Thank you, my friend. One reason people are committed at varying degrees is because of the level of importance they have attached to whatever they are committing to. Those with low levels of attachment will find this particularly challenging. Glad the quote is meaningful to you, as it is to me as well.

This is a hard one. I can’t just pick and choose LOL… It feels like I’m following each of the tips you mentioned here step by step. Probably out of all of them, the one that resonates the most to me is number 8, but just by a hair 😉

It resonates with me because sometimes have dreams of my deepest desires and I’m always trying to find ways of making improvements in all the activities I’m doing. When you become that focused and determined, aligning yourself with whatever you’re passionate about, it just happens with no explanation. That’s with the assistance of the Higher Power! It’s so perfect that it’s inexplicable!

Hey Sherman,
I appreciate your comments. Thank you for letting me know what you find important. The fact that you are constantly finding ways
to make improvements speaks to your character and your determination to succeed.

I think we try to achieve a great deal as we live our lives, but focusing on more specific things will probably bring us greater results.

Maybe for me it is #6 and #13. I have been getting a lot of clarity lately, but still have much work to be done in that area. Taking one day at a time and trying not to think negative thoughts, if today is fine then it is fine. No point in worrying about something that hasn’t happened, but always working toward the ultimate goal.

Hi Mary,
I agree with you. It has been my experience that when we focus on being, and do things from our being, from our sense of purpose,
we make manifest our greatest achievements. I have an acronym for the word FOCUS that may help you… Fully Operative Concentration Urging Success.
Stay focused and you will succeed! You’re right. No sense worrying about what you can’t control.

Hey Zach,
Welcome here! Glad to hear you’re investing in yourself. I have a lot of information on hand here to help you do just that. (See my about page for a short list of popular posts.)

Certainly, when we are intentional about something, we are committed to our own progress, which is a process and takes time. I know John as a personal friend. You’re right. Deep desire, determination and dedication all lead us to the changes we seek, to get us from Point A to B.

These are the types of things we need for the beginning of the year to give everyone t he right tools to focus on personal development and success. In terms of personal development, I love 1,3 and 5. Belief is the beginning of your self. Knowing you can do it and holding that belief closely to your heart to get what you want. Commitment is next and you have to know what you want and remain dedicated to it to attain success. And finally, continually changing to adjust and adapt to a rapidly changing world that makes success a challenge.

I agree with you. As with anything, when we have the proper tools, we can make progress. Thank you for letting me know which ones
are important to you. If we truly wish to be all that we can be, personal development becomes a lifelong commitment. This is important because, as you’ve mentioned, we live in a rapidly changing world. If we fail to adapt, we get left behind.

You’re very welcome Barbara. I trust you shall do well this year.
Best Regards,
Bill

I especially liked your point on not worrying about our reputation. If we look back at history, a lot of great folks were treated with disrespect and disgust by the public (but those guys endured…they kept on trying and they proved the public wrong….I am not comparing us to them..the point is that we should never worry much about reputation. Instead care about who we really are, and who we are becoming). Because, in the end, that’s all that matters, right? 😀

To me, the most important points are learning (trying to become a better me everyday) and helping others (a lot of the problems that exists today can be solved if we just work together).

Hey Jeevan,
Thanks! Glad you like it. As to reputation… you’re right, we need not worry about it. It is far more important to BE a person of character and integrity. There’s an old adage: “The proof is in the pudding.” So when it comes to learning, who you become is largely a result of the applications you’ve made from what you are learning. Francis Bacon was right, “Knowledge is power”… but only when applied. You have the proper mindset Jeevan. Helping others is what makes all things in life worthwhile. 🙂 I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. Thank you!

Personal development is the singular most important aspect of life that is so important that it should run the whole course of one’s life!

It is great that you’re focusing on it. In this post, my attention was drawn to ‘intentional improvements’. I first came across the concept in Talent Is Overrated. The author called it ‘deliberate practice’ and argued that it is the singular most stimulating type of self improvement act that brings out the champion and genius in various people; I have never agreed more to any author!

Hello Akaahan,
I absolutely agree with your first line. Intentional improvements are what really put world-class achievers in a league of their own. More than personal intelligence, whatever level people have, matters less than what level of intention that have to BE BETTER. Some smart people slack off because they know they’re smart. Some lesser intelligent people work harder at improving themselves because they know it’s the only chance they have for themselves.

Thank you so much Akaahan. As long as I live, I will… BE LOVE TO OTHERS. 🙂
Have an enjoyable weekend and week ahead.
Kindly,
Bill

Complete commitment is the main key and driver to all other points listed. Its easy to write goals down on a piece of paper, its easy to be social and influential; however the main driver and most difficult to implement is to have a complete commitment.

Thanks for sharing, as part of my own personal development, I made a complete commitment to make my blogging activities a serious business this 2014.

Hi James,
Thank you for adding value with your thoughts here. Complete commitment is a small but integral part of the personal development process.
If you find it difficult to implement, consider the following:

What value do you attach to your goals? Using a 0-100 scale gives you a fairly good picture to show you what is important to yourself. the higher the value, the easier it is to commit to the process.

What thoughts do you give priority to over all others? This shows you where your focus is, and where it often shouldn’t be.

How do you handle disappointments, setbacks, curve balls when they come your way. How you answer this will show you your level of determination. If your level of determination is unstoppable, you are completely committed!

You’re very welcome James. I’m glad to contribute. You have an enjoyable weekend too, and the week ahead. 🙂
Bill

You’ve done it again! What a great way to explain Personal Development and how it is much needed.

My favorites are 1 because if I didn’t have God in my life I don’t know how I would ever get through things. When all else fails all I have to do is say “God, lift me up and be by my side.” and that encourages me to go through whatever life brings to me.

3 because we are ever-changing beings. I believe we are all here to improve ourselves each and every day. What would happen if I stop? Gee…that would be a boring life wouldn’t it?

And of course 10 because Giving is the best thing one can do. There are so many ways we can give on a daily basis. All we need is the mindset. Then the blinders come off and we can clearly see how many ways we can give to others. Now that’s a feel good life!

Hi Donna,
Let me start off by saying I’m sorry for the loss of your faithful pet. We went through the same thing with our dog Jessie.

As to the personal development post, I think allowing God to be first in our lives is the wisest thing we can do. After that, it’s a matter of using what gifts and abilities God gives us to the best of our abilities. Many people spend time on fruitless endeavors, or waste time away on things that don’t matter that could be well spent on improvements. I also think that generosity reveals our spirit and instantly reveals our intentions where others are concerned.

Bill,
I never approach personal development deliberately but I do try to embrace most of the thirteen “keys” that you highlighted here.

The one that I need to improve upon the most is #7, healthy habits. I’m out of the habit of exercising regularly and I really need to get back into that one. Another habit that I’m trying to form is to make spending time with my family more of a priority. Work can wait and chores can wait but time with our family and friends can be fleeting.

Welcome Sherryl,
Thank you for stopping by here. I couldn’t agree with you more. Spending time with loved ones is very important. I’ve been doing more of that myself recently, and it feels good to share and interact with people in person. I think there is a real danger in today’s word of losing touch with people near and dear to us by spending more time online. I think the healthiest habit we can develop is listening to our bodies, for they always tell us what we need. If we pay close attention to our body signals, we will eat and exercise properly, and it will come rather naturally.

You’re very welcome! All the best to you in the week ahead!
Bill
All the